He Has Trouble Sleeping
by Naoshiro
Summary: Yukine had dreaded the night. In the dark, he couldn't shut his eyes. And Yato had known this. Having a shinki that feared the darkness was troublesome, to say the least.


_**A/N:** This fic is just me trying to make sense of the manga+anime interpretation of Yukine's fear of the dark._

 _As early as Chapter 4 of the manga and Episode 5 of the anime, it has been established that Yukine has this fear of the dark that really fucked with his ability to sleep. And Yato himself is the one who reveals this detail._

 _But this little fact about Yukine hasn't been that constantly interpreted throughout either the manga or the anime. How subtle its interpretation in the succeeding chapters/episodes is to me after its establishment is probably why some people forget that this is a thing that happens for Yukine._

 _Sure, Yato mentions Yukine's fear of the dark again in the manga around Chapter 36 when he says that he's glad he didn't bring Yukine along in Yomi because he'd be scared shitless of how dark it is. And the lamp is always on when Yukine's seen sleeping in their room at Kofuku's house in both the manga and the anime. And it looks like Yukine's been getting some well-deserved sleep since he has that lamp on in those scenes unlike when the fear was first introduced. But Yukine's shown being more or less fine during the nighttime scenes in the more recent episodes and chapters. Which kind of makes it unclear how this fear actually manifests._

 _Anyway, please enjoy the fic! Feel free to let me know what your take is on Yukine's fear of the dark._

* * *

Sleep.

Yukine hadn't gotten a lot of this at first.

Yukine had dreaded the night. In the dark, he couldn't shut his eyes.

And Yato had known this. Having a shinki that feared the darkness was troublesome, to say the least.

His movements would be largely restricted to daytime. A tired and irritable shinki wasn't an ideal work partner. Not only that, a troubled shinki meant a troubled god. Yato couldn't have Yukine's dread plaguing him every time the sun set.

He couldn't let Yukine's thoughts linger too long on _why_ he possessed that fear, lest dangerous ideas or memories come forth. He couldn't risk losing a shinki the way he lost _her_. Not again. He'd rather let his shinki leave him willingly than to have to go through that once more.

That was partly why he didn't want to get Yukine a cat when he'd asked Yato if they could adopt one.

Yato had used Daikoku as an excuse to get out of that one, saying that the man wouldn't like it if they brought a stray home. Yato had said that Daikoku would end up buying the cat food for it since they barely got by on Yukine's pay as it was. That wasn't a total lie. Not only was buying cat food going to take a sizeable chunk out of their savings, but having a cat around constantly was bound to remind Yukine of something he'd lost. A smoky black cat with yellowish eyes had ties to Yukine's previous life.

Yato had to be careful with what he'd bring up around Yukine.

And so, Yato resolved to find a way around that fear.

* * *

Yato flipped through his social media feed to pass the time while waiting for Yukine to come up to their room after he and Hiyori were done with their study session. He lay on his side, facing the open window.

He heard the door slide open, and the soft thumps of Yukine's socked feet as he walked into their room.

"Yukine!" he called out, sitting up and facing him. Yukine was about to lay his study materials down on the floor next to where his futon would be. He turned his head to Yato with a questioning look on his face.

"I bought something good today," Yato said, sounding really proud of himself.

Yukine's expression turned skeptical. "It's not another one of those useless charms, is it?" he asked with disappointment in his tone.

"No, no, just look at this!"

Yato grabbed the box sitting on the floor next to him and handed it out for Yukine to take. He came over to Yato with a puzzled look that morphed into one of wonder when he'd seen the photo of a white lamp on the front of the box.

"A study lamp?" Yukine's eyes shone. The much lighter weight of his bottle of coins didn't feel so concerning to Yato anymore after seeing the awe on his shinki's face.

"Yeah," Yato replied. "You can stay up to go over Hiyori's workbooks with this."

It wasn't Yato's actual purpose for buying it, but it seemed a convincing enough reason to tell him. He also felt it right to give Yukine a little something extra after going through an ablution. The kid had been working hard ever since that night.

Yukine took the box from Yato with utmost care, almost as if it would escape from his grasp if he showed a little too much excitement. "I can have this?" he asked.

"I bought it for you." Yato sported a smug smile as he folded his arms and straightened his back. It felt pretty good to spend money on something appreciated. "Don't say I never did anything for you," he said.

Yukine looked from the box to Yato as a smile spread across his face. "Thanks!" he said with a twinkle in his eyes.

Taking the lamp out of the box, Yukine scrambled over to the nearest wall socket. He hurried to plug in the lamp, eager to test it out. The lamp's cord was long enough for Yukine to place the gift in the center of the room, and the light from the lamp was warm and bright. The lamp worked just fine.

* * *

The lamp worked _wonders_.

Over time, Yato noticed that Yukine didn't seem as tense when he turned off the light in their room. The lamp in between their futons remained open each night in the dark room, bathing the center of the room in its yellowish-white glow. Whether Yukine did some reading before bed or not, Yukine only turned the lamp off and unplugged it when he woke up in the morning. He was often up before Yato anyway, so Yato didn't have to do that at daybreak. With how often and how long he left it open, Yato was surprised its bulb didn't burn out yet.

Yukine clearly felt more at ease with it on, and Yato observed that Yukine's been sleeping better.

 _Just as planned,_ Yato thought to himself, proud that his little scheme was going well. _But._

He glanced drearily into the bright light of Yukine's lamp and groaned. What was Yukine's problem with sleeping was now his. It was too bright for him to get any sleep.

Yato pulled out Yukine's small table from the corner of the room where it lay unused and propped it up on its side. He put it next to his futon to block the light from hitting his face. Content with the placement, he smiled tiredly. He stretched his arms and dove right back under the covers. It was a great (and cost-free) alternative to investing in an eye mask.

The morning after Yato first used the table to shade his face from the light, Yukine asked if leaving the light on was bothering him. Yato denied that it did. He didn't want Yukine to stop using the lamp on his account.

Yukine accepted Yato's answer, likely because he knew that Yato would have been vocal about his complaints if he really had any.

* * *

Yukine's confidence in his abilities grew each day, it seemed to Yato. The recent run-in with Ebisu, his entourage, and his suitcase full of cash seemed to accelerate this progress.

That confidence has made Yukine braver, and less hesitant to cut what he needed to as Sekki. He really had found a reliable shinki. A _hafuri_ at that. Yato needn't worry too much. Yukine even had Kazuma around to serve as his mentor.

He was glad that Yukine's growing confidence didn't make him as fearful of going around the neighborhood at night. Yukine wasn't alarmed by the sight of the setting sun anymore. He was fine when there were lampposts to brighten the area.

Yato, however, didn't want to bring Yukine to a dark confined space.

The underworld, Yomi, would be just that.

Yomi was vast, crawling with ayakashi thriving in the darkness. Throwing Yukine into such an environment so soon, despite how well he's been doing, would only endanger or frighten him. It might even reverse all that progress Yukine has made since his ablution, or increase his dependency on the presence of a light source to a harmful degree.

So Yato thought it right to go there with Nora instead.

But he wanted to kick himself all the same for thinking that it was better for him to have been stuck in the underworld with her instead of Yukine. It was no wonder his previous shinki gave him shit for his behavior. Yukine was his hafuri, after all. He should have been with him.

Yato feared that it was he who would single-handedly erase what progress Yukine made as a hafuri with his decision to be with Nora.

He vowed never to use Nora again. She was strong, but she wasn't Yukine.

And for someone who found comfort in sleeping in total darkness, Yato would have welcomed the sight of Yukine's bright study lamp in the depths of the underworld.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** [David Cook's "Light On" playing in the distance]_


End file.
